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C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 27 Mar 2008 20:40

Been kinda dreading writing this up. Before I get started, I just want to emphasize that Iâ€™m writing this as a way for me to help process what happened, and not as an indictment of Chris or anybody elseâ€™s behavior. Iâ€™m also writing this because I know many people donâ€™t know what happened at Shred for Savvy, and I figure its best to probably hear the complete version from the person with the best seat in the house of the events. Not really the way I'd like to start off a new page, but hey.

Saturday night continued

All the footbag and basketball had me pretty tired before the party even started, but the excitement of seeing all my friends, and the relief of competition being over kept me in good spirits. Around 2 am though, I was about ready to leave. I had eaten, had good convo, played games, and even had cake. For the most part everybody was pretty chilled out. Vince and Dave had already left to go to sleep, and I'd already told Jon I wanted to start rounding up the troops.

I was only vaguely aware that Poker had ended, as people started dispersing from the table. Chris had been acting kind of over-the-top throughout the game, which I found pretty funny. I was pretty sure it was just an act, and that he was actually using it as an effective gambling strategy, as it seemed to make people play more recklessly against him. Once the game was done though, I noticed that he seemed a bit tipsy. I just assumed heâ€™d crash on a couch til he sobered up, but before I could even get a feel of his plans, he was announcing that he was driving home. Immediately I knew that our only real hope was to play the situation down and distract him, because if he saw the situation as people telling him what to do, it could only be trouble. Unfortunately, Chris got loud, and since everybody else was kind of quiet, it attracted attention. This was a perfect storm, as it escalated the situation in Chrisâ€™ mind that it was him against the world. I tried to get Chris to let Jon and I drive him home, to do it as a personal favor to me, but that didnâ€™t work. At one point Chris physically shoved me, which surprised me, and got the attention of the rest of the room. This angered Ian, who I didnâ€™t want to get involved because he was also drunk. I figured that if anybody was going to calm Chris down, it would be me, since I was his closest friend in the room. I donâ€™t remember exactly what set it off, but at some point we decided weâ€™d have to get his keys away from him, and a couple people had to physically wrestle Chris down. While we knew this would only make Chris worse off in the short term, we really didnâ€™t have any other options, as he was literally fighting his way out the door with his keys before.

Once we had his keys, I figured Chris would flip out for a bit more, and then pass out. At least he wouldnâ€™t be able to drive home. It got to the point where he was screaming so loud and pouring beer on the ground, that Adrienne asked us to get him out of her house. Once Chris was on the lawn, he was so loud and upset that we were afraid the neighbors were going to call the cops on him. I went outside to try and at least get him to calm down a bit. I donâ€™t remember who else was out there with him, but I do remember that one moment I was whispering him to sit down and talk with me, and the next moment I was on my back looking up at stars. I literally do not remember seeing the punch at all. No windup, no blur, nothing. Just one moment standing, and then the next moment Iâ€™m on my back. I felt the back of my head feel strange before I felt my mouth at all, and I remember being more confused by the blood than anything.

I didnâ€™t get up for a while, because I was afraid to move in case I hurt my head. Soon enough there were faces looking down on me, asking me if I was OK, if I wanted to move, etc. I would have stayed there on the floor all night, except I started to get cold. People helped me back into the house, and it looked like everybody was as shocked as I was. I remember going through sheet after sheet of paper towel, each one leaving my mouth as bloody as the last. Somebody thought to give me ice in a bag, but even with that and applying pressure, the bleeding didnâ€™t seem to stop. The world seemed kind of hazy for a while there, and I wasnâ€™t sure if it was from hitting my head on the curb, or just from the surreality of the situation and the shock of getting sucker punched by a friend.

After a while I got my bearings enough to take a photo of my mouth with my camera, and then asked for a mirror. A big chunk of my lip was missing from the side, which was so gross, I almost didnâ€™t register it as being my mouth. Somebody asked if I wanted to go to the hospital, and I honestly answered that I wasnâ€™t sure. I asked what people thought, and some people told me that I should go if I wanted it to heal better cosmetically. I remember even then thinking to myself that nobody there was a doctor, so I asked somebody to take me to the hospital, which was the right move.

Vince and Dave showed up, and took me to the hospital. Dave and Vince were having some deep conversation about life goals, which added to the surreality of the situation for me. We got lost, then finally arrived at the hospital. It was around 3 or 3:30 in the morning. There was a Hispanic family ahead of me in the waiting line, and the nurse wasnâ€™t communicating well with them, so I stepped in to translate for them to expedite my own admittance. The whole process was amazingly slow. Vince left for a while to deal with getting Chris home, and Dave kept me company throughout. It was weird how I wasnâ€™t tired at all at this point, but I was super bored. Over the next few hours I got a catscan, which came back negative but they still told me I was lightly concussed, and so I should take it easy. They also told me Iâ€™d need antibiotics because my lip was definitely going to get infected, and they were also going to prescribe me strong painkillers because it was going to hurt (and they were right). I got 3 stitches in my lip and was told to limit my talking, and be careful while eating. Around 5 or 6 am Dave went to the car to sleep. Around 7 am we got to the pharmacy near my house, where the pharmacist told me my painkiller prescription was filled out wrong, so she could only give me antibiotics. She told me I had to get the prescription filled out again at the hospital. I almost started crying in front of her. I saw that she was moved, but that she couldnâ€™t do anything. I bought some OTC painkillers that she suggested, picked up my antibiotics, and had Vince drive me home.

Back home I took a 12-hour-overdue shower, and my first dose of medicine. The people who crashed at my place the night before stayed at Adrienneâ€™s, and I managed to get 1 hour of sleep in before they swung by to get their stuff. I tried to stay upbeat and positive while they were there, and I thanked them for coming. It really was a good weekend up until the incident, and I wanted them (and myself) to remember the weekend for the good stuff, and not for the one bad thing. I still remind myself of that. I think that when I see video of my routine, and of circle comp, it will be easier for me to remember the good.

I also think that in some ways it was good that I took the punch, and not someone else. Iâ€™ve been playing footbag for almost 11 years now, and I really love it. The punch wonâ€™t make me stop playing footbag, and it wonâ€™t stop me from going to tournies. I should be able to shake off this incident better than most people I figure. That said, itâ€™s been tough both physically and emotionally. Chris sent me an apology by PM, but I still donâ€™t feel ready to talk to him again, and Iâ€™m not sure when that will change. Chris was a friend of mine, and I feel like I got hurt because I was looking out for him and trying to help him out. Itâ€™s really tough. .. Iâ€™m still trying to process it all.

On Sunday I slept a ton, then met up with Vince. He went back to the hospital and got them to correctly fill out the prescription, which was a huge relief. Hung out with Vince for a while at my place, which was comforting. I really try and look for positives in the situation, and one thing I can definitely say is that I have some very caring friends in the community. It meant a lot to me to have Dave and Vince there with me to joke around with in the ER, and Vince really went beyond the call of duty in taking me to the hospital and looking out for me. Itâ€™s a shame it takes such extreme circumstances to learn these things, but I feel very lucky and comforted to know that I have friends like Vince on my side when I need it. Sunday night I got sushi with Pete, Age and Vince. It was good for me to get out of the house. I felt pretty doped out on painkillers, but I really tried to put on a positive face, and to give Age props on throwing a good tourney.

On Monday I called in sick to work, more because of the painkillers than for the mouth. I went to the dentist to get a crown on my root canal, and the dentist told me they couldnâ€™t do anything while my mouth is half sewn up. Monday afternoon my girlfriend got back from Easter, and that was comforting. The rest of the week has been a bit of a daze of Percocet, but Iâ€™ve made it through 2 days of work and most of my classes. I make it through class tomorrow, and then itâ€™s the weekend. Hopefully by next week I can switch to less strong painkillers and start playing footbag again.

So that's what happened. I'd like to leave you with some sort of moral or lesson, but I'm not sure if I have one. My recovery is sucking, but at least I'm recovering, and at least it wasn't worse than it was. Ultimately this whole thing is just gonna be one small footnote to a good tourney where I did really well. That's the way I'm going to remember it, and that's the way I hope others do too.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 28 Mar 2008 06:00

Good objective/subjective wite up of an unfortunate incident. From reading through, I admire your responsible attitude during the fray and how you really tried to keep it from escalating. Sometimes best efforts aren't good enough, but you can feel good that you tried. I think the moral of the story is that having fun and some drinks is OK, but having too much fun and too many drinks can lead to problems that linger for a long time. I hope, if it is what feels right, that everything works out and you and Chris can rebuild into being buddies again.

max · Post by **max** » 28 Mar 2008 08:53

yeah well that sucks. Getting punched in the face followed by a trip to the hospital is never fun, it's even worse when a friend was responsible.

Still, I have to say that I too am impressed by your attitude. Props for that and get well soon Ken.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 28 Mar 2008 09:08

Get some rest buddy, and take it easy no matter the circumstance. Recovery is top priority, and I'm sure you're feeling a great deal of stress at the moment. It definitely was a positive tournament experience, and Age really did a great service to make "Shred for Savvy" happen. I can't wait to see your routine on video!

Can't wait for you to recover soon so that we can get into a circle together. I don't think I played well to my expectations last weekend, so I'm definitely putting more effort and focus into my training regimen. Of course, footbag is for fun, and I'll be aware of that. I mean, you make footbag wickedly fun with your crowd-gathering style.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 29 Mar 2008 09:59

I've been sleeping a ton lately, and I don't know why. I want to end this trend.

I got in my first real session since the tourney last night. I felt kind of uptight and off-balance throughout. I could really use a good session to recenter myself. It probably didn't help that I played in a really big and billowy t-shirt that refused to stay tucked in. It really screwed up my spins. To that t-shirt I say: never again. I also played in some planetfootbag shorts that I won for Shred for Savvy. They seem OK so far, but I want to get in a more rigorous session before I pass official judgment.

Highlights (I'm not using the new YouTube embed feature unless I am posting a single item I want you to see. I feel like my old method gives you more freedom to view what you want):

*Short, mostly genuine run.
*DATW o-i- Paradon-PDLO drill
*Nine dexless to a run
*Blaze-toebius-run

While I was going for blaze-toebius, I had a couple cool flukes when I screwed up. I erased the weirder one, but here's a cool one.

Hopefully get in another session this weekend.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 30 Mar 2008 20:13

Thank you to everybody who wrote me PMs and emails, I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

I got in another shred Saturday night. I dunno, I hit some decent stuff, but I didn't have as much fun as I normally do. Two subpar sessions in a row has me a little worried. I could really use a good session to cheer me up. I'm definitely a bit stressed out about my impending graduation, which might be affecting my shred. In 6 weeks my thesis needs to be done, and school is essentially over. I need to find a job. I don't even know where I'll be living 2 months from now. Definitely stressful. At least I'll be off antibiotics by Wednesday, so I'll be able to enjoy the occasional beer again. Something to look forward to.

Highlights from Saturday:

*Atomic blender and a nice short run.
*Whirling ss lo-symp egg-string
*Run with some gimping whirls and double downs
*Some hatchets and 'hawks both sides
*Spinning PDLO-smoke
*Fun run with pogo and symp butterfly
*Blur with 2 bags

In the past I hit PSW with 2 bags, but I find it's easier to clipper 2 bags than it is to toe stall 2 bags, so I'm prouder of 2 bag blur because there are more dexes involved, and the transition from clipper to toe is harder with 2 bags imo.

bdams19 · Post by **bdams19** » 30 Mar 2008 22:42

ken!! i love your symp eggs cause they are so huge! i injured myself again and I was just checking out the blogs of my favorite players when I stumbled across your new vids. Keep em comin! I thought itd be a good time to remind you that you were my inspiration to start playing again over the summer and that I wouldn't be playing if not for your sessions in washington square park. Ken Somolinos, provider of inspiration for the common folk. Keep it up!

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 31 Mar 2008 15:48

Aidan posted my Shred for Savvy routine today, which totally put me in a good mood. Thank you so much Aidan!

Here it is:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=jt4iNYqE8lk&fmt=18[/youtube]

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 02 Apr 2008 17:31

I need to be realistic about my expectations with footbag. I know it's my best stress reliever, but I still shouldn't expect it to somehow magically solve all my problems, or relieve all my stress. Between my thesis and my impending graduation (job hunt), I'm definitely feeling a mental squeeze. I'm going to try and be diligent about getting in sessions when I can, but if they aren't spectacular sessions, I need to make a point of not letting it get to me.

I had a strong session last night. I had fun toying around with flyers for a while, and I was also excited to hit a new trick: bullwhip. Muted and everything. Given the qualities of my camera, it's pretty hard to tell if I'm hitting it cleanly, but based on the timing of my motions (I got several on film), I at least know it's not totally "the."

Highlights, in rough order of how stoked I was about them:

*Bullwhip-pdx torque-pdx blender.
*Spinning pdx egg to a run
*Run with lots of different toe sets
*Run with 6 different 5 add double down variations
*Bl. whirl-bl. whirl-nearly blizzard rubberman
*Blurry whirl-rubberman-tomahawk to a small run.
*12 contact step clipper drill-tomahawk
*Blurry whirl-rubberman-tomahawk (strong)
*34 contact run ending in Scorpion's tail

Today the thought of attending GRASS went through my mind. The rational part of me says I cannot afford to take off any weekends before my thesis is due, and its right. That said, I know I would have a lot of fun, and it would give me another shot at routines in comp. It's kind of funny to me that the only real reason I'm considering travelling 8 hours by car is because I dropped a hacky sack once during a specific 2 minute period of time on March 22nd.

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crazylegs32 · Post by **crazylegs32** » 02 Apr 2008 22:19

Chris also sucker punched me at funtastics, after I turned my back and walked away from him. Unfortunately he is still around doing the same thing. Im shocked and sorry to hear it Ken. Hopefully you have insurance and recover fully.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 03 Apr 2008 04:26

Nice bullwhip! I love that trick. Actually, there was a thread about cool hard tricks that you don't see often - this is one of them. Yours was really nicely balanced. Nice play out of it too.

On all the stress: Just try to remember that the push right now will be over sooner than later. Short term pain = long term gain. You can do it!

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 04 Apr 2008 06:37

Ya know what you need to chill? A nice, healthy dose of home-made sushi...

sen · Post by **sen** » 04 Apr 2008 12:55

Hey Ken,

I just wanted to stop by and mention that I have really enjoyed going through some of your vids on YouTube. I haven't watched them all yet, but I like what I see.

PS When did you get into footbag? 15 years ago?

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 06 Apr 2008 09:07

No footbag for me since my last post, due to job-search combined with my thesis. My biggest chapter is due tomorrow, and that's consumed me for the last few days. The job-stuff looks a bit more promising, as I found out that I got a very selective and competitive government fellowship, the Presidential Management Fellowship, which will hopefully parlay into a government job when I graduate. I'm not going to exhale though until I actually get placed with an agency though. Still, I feel a little less stressed now about jobs.

Rieferman wrote:
On all the stress: Just try to remember that the push right now will be over sooner than later. Short term pain = long term gain.

Pascal told me something similar that he saw on a bumper sticker: "Pain is temporary, pride is forever." I agree with you both. That's a big part of why I decided to not go to GRASS this year, even though I had a ride and hotel room easily available, and feel like I could compete well. Priorities.

I uploaded a couple more strings from my last session onto youtube. Mostly just playing around with a variety of flyers in my strings:

*Run with five fliers
*Run with six fliers
*Run with good flyer variety

Tony: I've been playing footbag since July of 1997, so I'm not quite that old yet. Check out the first few pages of my blog for an account of my first year in the sport.

Hopefully get in a session tomorrow night. I could definitely use the stress relief and the exercise.

Asmus · Post by **Asmus** » 06 Apr 2008 10:08

Sir, Please go Dropless in Prague!!

And before that..
Flyer > Pdx Torque? That would look cool..

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 07 Apr 2008 17:48

If I had to bet, I'd put my chances of making it to Prague at 20%. Worlds is pretty late in the summer, so hopefully I'll have a job lined up by then (and therefore not be able to go). If I do have time after graduation and before my job, I may prefer to do what I did in 2006 and spend an equivalent amount of money on a longer vacation in Japan. Maybe I won't do either, and just take the time to find good housing and settle in, and only take off one weekend to go to USO. We'll see, a lot of things need to happen before I can start to make any real plans.

Worked on my thesis all weekend, and mailed off my paper at 3 am Monday morning. Went to work at 9, came home for class at 6, and didn't get "free" until 8 pm. I'd like to play tonight, but I'm so tired, I might just watch the Final Four game and have a beer.

I was going through some old videos of mine, and found this one from my first semester at Cornell. It's from November, 2006, but I was still pleasantly surprised at the level of shred. Check it out:
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=ncTRUBFv0Cc[/youtube]

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 08 Apr 2008 22:20

Damn-good footage!:arrow:

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 09 Apr 2008 18:24

Last night I got in my first session in a week. A week! For those of you who haven't been keeping up with my blog lately, life has been hectic and stressful. For some reason though, I'm getting more optimistic about things. I think there's a good chance I'll end up in DC for a couple years, which I think would work out well for me footbagwise. I could definitely see myself hosting tournies with Vince, and driving to a bunch of East Coast events with him and Age.

Lots of highlights from yesterday. I'm happy that I can be out of practice, but still manage to hit a bunch of different concepts without too much trouble. There are some advantages to being an old-timer after all.

*Double blender off the foot
*Smoke-dlo rpt, and pdlo-paradon rpt
*Fog bsos+smoke and gdlo using diff dlos
*Enterrage in shoes
*Butterfly kick-pdx torque. For Asmus.
*40 contact string with pixie inside kick-spinning clipper
*Pixie dso barefoot. New trick.
*Pigbeater bsos. Tough for me.
*A bunch of down doubles, and butterfly kick-dlo
*Diving clipper-bubba egg bsos

max · Post by **max** » 10 Apr 2008 05:00

nice stuff Ken!!

How about some dragonflies > spinning osis?

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 11 Apr 2008 17:58

Spring is officially here in DC! Some days are a bit rainy, but then there are days like today, when it's absolutely perfect out. I should have done more work today, but I couldn't waste the weather. I went out and played soccer and basketball with some of the undergrads from my school, which was wonderful. Basketball was the best; we played 3 on 3 and I felt my game was on point. I scored 4 of my teams 5 baskets, and most of them on jumpshots too.

Pascal is coming to visit this weekend, so hopefully I can get enough work done to squeeze in a shred with him.